Compare LaBella White Nylon Tapes with Elixirs? Also, compare various tapes??

[rufus.K]

I've used the Fender black nylon tapes on a jazz for years. They are quite nasal, and it's not easy to get them to fit in the mix. I i adore how they feel.

 

[Flatwoundround]

@Flatwoundround - let me know how you make out. I've used the coppers for classic rock, some jazz, and a lot of blues recently. My experience was they fit right in, and had just enough presence (with a hint of reverb added via an Iron Ether Nimbus) to cut through very nicely without being obvious about it. Very musical strings. I think they'll get you exactly what you're looking for.

Well I tried out the coppers with the band last Thursday and thumbs up all the way. They had plenty of low end, no shortage at all. In fact I kept the low freq flat at 12:00, with the high at 1:30 and the mids both around 10:00. I could probably have boosted up the high mid to closer to 11:00 to get just a tad bit more clarity. Anyways the tone is so clean sounding, no finger noise, not a lot of overtones etc, yet it still sounds more modern sounding than the black tapes or the flats I have tried (Chromes, Labellas, DR's).

So I am with you 40hz, these strings are just awesome in every every way. They feel and play like butter, low tension but not too low where it feels floppy, and very good tone. These are my favorite strings and I have tried alot of them.

 

[Flatwoundround]

are you talking about the NAMM 2016 with the blue nylon underneath the clear? Unfortunately there's no sound demo of these.

I got here late..so the consensus seems to be the whites are brightest? I have a few other questions though:

I am assuming whether copper.80/20, or steel core, they all will work with a piezo and magnetic setup, unlike thoms. yes? Any difference in the mag pickup volume between all these? or flexibility?

I keep seeing here there's a 5 string set with a high C which is what I need, but not for sale anywhere. Jason?

On my Turner Ren, the dadarrio chromes short scale fits fine..so I am looking at the LaBella ss set?

thanks .

Yes, I think they are called Robert Bubby Lewis MTD edition strings. Apparently they only come in very large gauge, so you would most likely have to adjust the nut. With the coppers I did not have to do any of that so I am totally happy with the coppers in every way.

 

[40Hz]

Well I tried out the coppers with the band last Thursday and thumbs up all the way. They had plenty of low end, no shortage at all. In fact I kept the low freq flat at 12:00, with the high at 1:30 and the mids both around 10:00. I could probably have boosted up the high mid to closer to 11:00 to get just a tad bit more clarity. Anyways the tone is so clean sounding, no finger noise, not a lot of overtones etc, yet it still sounds more modern sounding than the black tapes or the flats I have tried (Chromes, Labellas, DR's).

So I am with you 40hz, these strings are just awesome in every every way. They feel and play like butter, low tension but not too low where it feels floppy, and very good tone. These are my favorite strings and I have tried alot of them.

Glad it worked out well for you.

I'm always a little hesitant to recommend anything that's as personal a matter of taste as one's strings. But I really do like these tapewounds. So I can now heave a deep sigh of relief I didn't steer you wrong on them.

Keep on playin'!

 

[stringtheory6]

This. Spot on the sugar.

As noted, the white and gold have a very similar tonal quality - but varying degrees of brightness. The coppers have a very different (to my ears) tonal color.

I never once found a set of black nylons by anybody that remained on any bass I owned for more than a day. I do not like black nylon strings at all. (Or at least so far.)

The LaBella white series is a whole 'nother smoke.

I don't care too much for the plain whites because I find them to be too bright. I could see using the golds for some things. They're actually a pretty good compromise. But I very much do like the coppers. That extra complexity in their mids hits me where I live. The coppers are the set I use. And probably the only set of nylons I can say I actually do like. On an active VM Jag, they're a match made in heaven. I may also load one of my PBasses with a set come next string change. (Very nice strings!)

Highly recommended if your tastes run similar to mine. YMMV.

Do the Golds deliver strong mids?
Can you explain further how the mids differ between the La Bella Copper and Gold?

 

[40Hz]

Do the Golds deliver strong mids?
Can you explain further how the mids differ between the La Bella Copper and Gold?

Mids are stronger and more complex with the copper set. At least as far as my ears go.

The golds have a decent amount of mids. But there's more brightness as well, so the mids don't come across to me as prominently. The golds also sound a little clearer. I've been told (but don't know if it's true) that the gold set is the most popular. you might want to touch bases with TB member @SLaPiNFuNK. He runs basstringsonline.com and is our resident string guru. He could probably give you a more informed recommendation than I could.

 

[Salem6127]

Tried the Labella golds myself and wasn't too impressed. I thought they'd be a touch brighter than my TI flats, but the complete opposite was true. Then again, I suppose TI are their own beast amongst flats.

Elixirs have also been on my bucket list, but is there a big difference between the Elixir nickels and the Labella golds? Or are they at least brighter than my TI's? Not sure how much the nanoweb coating chokes out the note.

 

[Salem6127]

Tried the Labella golds myself and wasn't too impressed. I thought they'd be a touch brighter than my TI flats, but the complete opposite was true. Then again, I suppose TI are their own beast amongst flats.

Elixirs have also been on my bucket list, but is there a big difference between the Elixir nickels and the Labella golds? Or are they at least brighter than my TI's? Not sure how much the nanoweb coating chokes out the note.

Updating this for anyone else's research: I finally slapped on that pair of nickel elixirs and they are definitely darker than the the Labella golds (and henceforth the whites I'd imagine). Wanted the SS elixirs, but my local shop didn't have 'em.

On a fundamental and harmonic basis, the tapewounds were the clear winner here. Much more versatile string IMO.